1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a membrane system which makes possible intercommunication between successive railway or road vehicles, by means of an elastically deformable membrane in the form of concertina bellows completely surrounding the exposed passage. The membrane serves as an extension of the longitudinal walls of two vehicles and is used for the transport of passengers therebetween or for use on an auto-train.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A concertina bellows with a large cross section is currently formed of rubberized fabric in accordion folds to allow for large deflections. Various devices seeking to give the bellows a self-supporting character have also been proposed. In particular, HUBNER-GUMMI UND KUNSTSTOFFE disclosed in its French Patent No. 2,348,829 the formation of additional pleats in the corners. TAURUS GUMMIIPARI disclosed in its French Patent No. 2,529,836 a concertina bellows, possibly molded, with different thicknesses in the sides and at the base of the pleats.
Likewise, HUBNER describes in the utility model registration French Patent No. 2,333,657 the possibility of a multi-layer composite, which provides acoustical and thermal insulation. TAURUS, in its French Patent No. 2,328,141, utilizes such a composite as a self-supporting entity, by a variation of the width of the flat corrugations which are alternately connected by their outside and inside edges.
FAIVELEY, in its French Patent No. 2,496,030, and S.I.G. in its French Patent No. 2,568,195, also describe an intercommunication device, enclosed on all sides, with a central frame supported by a coupling or by arms, and connected to the inside of the vehicles by a deformable membrane, which is not precisely defined. S.I.G. states in particular that this device requires "membranes realized by molding, which are corrugated, thick, elastic" and provided with insulation capabilities and flame-resistant. FAIVELEY, in the above-referenced patent, declares this membrane to be "deformable or pleated".
French Patent No. 2,573,714 of FAIVELEY also describes an intercommunication corridor which is equipped with one or two envelopes connecting a frame to the ends of the mass transit vehicles to allow free passage from one vehicle to the other.
The prior art appears to recognize many of the requirements for such membranes. However, the prior art does not include any technique which is capable of correctly satisfying the contradictory requirements of having a flexible but self-supporting character, while providing thermal insulation, acoustical insulation, and protection against the wind caused by the speed of travel and also being capable of being made economical and light weight.
Along other lines, CAOUTCHOUC MANUFACTURE ET PLASTIQUES, in its European Patent No. 0,206,910, discloses an intercommunication tunnel with an oval cross section which has a self-supporting wall that is deformable overall. The tunnel is of a one-piece construction, tends to perform all the functions of an intercommunication device, but, because of its rigidity, is smaller than the full cross section of the vehicles. In European Patent Application 87.400784-2 of CAOUTCHOUC MANUFACTURE ET PLASTIQUES directed to a rigid intercommunication ring, there is disclosed a rolling connection between the vehicle bodies, which could also be applied to the above-mentioned tunnel.